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A suicide bomber blew himself up near the United States consulate in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah in the early hours of Monday, the interior ministry said.Video provided by AFP Newslook
In this Monday July 4, 2016 TV grab from footage released by Al-Ekhbariya, Saudi security forces investigate the scene of an explosion in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.(Photo: Uncredited, AP)
A series of bombings across Saudi Arabia on Monday brought death and fear to the Sunni nation<span style="color: Red;">*</span>as the holy month of Ramadan edged closer<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to a violent conclusion across the region.
The Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>issued a communique before Ramadan began imploring<span style="color: Red;">*</span>jihadists to “make it, with God’s permission, a month of pain for infidels everywhere.”<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The militant group claimed responsibility for attacks in Iraq and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bangladesh and is blamed for another in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Turkey that together killed hundreds in the last week. Ramadan ends this week.
Islamic State did not immediately claim responsibility for any of the Saudi blasts.
An attack Monday in the western city of Medina<span style="color: Red;">*</span>targeted security forces near<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Al-Haram al-Nabawi, a mosque built by the prophet Mohammed and one of the holiest in Islam. The attack<span style="color: Red;">*</span>took place during prayers and in the evening,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>when observing Muslims break the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ramadan fast.
Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said in a statement on the state-run al-Ekhbariya news channel that four security officers were killed and five others were wounded in the attack.
Video from the scene shows smoke billowing near the mosque as a crowd watches. The mosque draws millions of visitors en route to Mecca during Ramadan.
Also Monday, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>suicide bomber blew himself up near a Shiite mosque in the eastern city of Qatif. A car bomb also exploded nearby, but no other deaths or injuries were immediately reported.
Qatif sits on the Persian Gulf in Saudi Arabia's expansive Eastern Province.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Saudi Arabia is dominated by Sunnis but has a substantial Shiite population in the east.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Resident Nasima al-Sada told the news agency AFP that "one bomber blew himself up near the mosque" and that no bystanders were hurt.
The Qatif blasts<span style="color: Red;">*</span>came hours after a suicide bomber struck near the U.S. consulate in the western city of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Jiddah.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Saudi Interior Ministry said the Jiddah attacker detonated his suicide vest when security guards approached him near the parking lot of a hospital.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Some cars were damaged but no injuries were reported.
The U.S. consulate in Jiddah<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was the scene of an attack in 2004, when<span style="color: Red;">*</span>five employees and four gunmen were killed.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Saudi wing of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for that attack.
Islamic State's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>stepped-up terrorism strikes in recent weeks comes as the the group struggles on the battlefield. The militants have been losing ground in their effort to carve a Sunni caliphate ruled by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
sharia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>law from a swath of Iraq and Syria.
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